MANILA: The Aquino administration is readying up to 27bn pesos that it can use to help communities devastated by the latest typhoon to hit the country.
“We still have more than P6 billion in the calamity fund in the 2014 budget, plus 21bn pesos in quick response funds of various agencies in the 2015 budget,” Budget Secretary Florencio Abad told reporters.
He said the government could use these appropriations to help people displaced and communities devastated by Typhoon Ruby.
He said the calamity fund balance of more than 6bn pesos is immediately available, while the additional 21bn pesos would be available if Congress approves the 2015 budget and President Aquino signs it into law before yearend.
“We will have to wait for damage reports from local government units and agencies concerned,” he said.
He added it was a good thing that the typhoon spared Metro Manila since it would have caused more damage had it struck urban centres.
Abad was interviewed before briefing the House of Representatives’ appropriations committee on the 22.5bn pesos additional budget for this year that President Aquino is seeking.
Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr attended the briefing. He, Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales ll and Davao City Representative Isidro Ungab, appropriations committee chairman, have filed House Bill 5237 containing the proposed supplemental budget.
Abad said 10 of the 26 items of appropriation in the supplemental budget would fund Disbursement Acceleration Programme (DAP) projects that have been discontinued due to the Supreme Court (SC) decision declaring at least four DAP practices as unconstitutional.
He identified the appropriations as 2.8bn pesos for the “operational transformation plan” of the Philippine National Police, 300m pesos for the Department of Science and Technology, 5.2m pesos for the transfer of the Quezon City prosecutors’ and public attorneys’ offices, 240m pesos for development assistance to Quezon province, 250m pesosfor the completion of the House legislative library and archives building, 978m pesos for the rehabilitation of light rail transit lines 1 and 2, 287m pesos for the National Housing Authority, 340m pesos for the Philippine Coconut Authority, 196m pesos for the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority and 199m pesos for the purchase of 33 fire trucks for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Some 1.8m pesos is set aside for the payment of obligations incurred by the Department of Public Works and Highways for projects funded under the congressional Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) before this appropriation was struck down by the SC as unconstitutional, Abad said.
He said 9.5bn pesos would be an augmentation to the Yolanda reconstruction fund.
He said the other appropriations are for new projects, including 1.9bn pesos that would enable the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) to do surveys to update its data on poverty.
Some members of the Ungab committee expressed concern that continued funding for DAP projects might contravene the SC ruling on the controversial economic stimulus programme.
But Abad said under the high court’s decision, Malacañang has to go back to Congress to fund projects in case the government generates savings or additional revenues.
“We are precisely complying with the SC ruling by submitting this supplemental budget to the House of Representatives,” he said.
National Treasurer Rosalia de Leon informed the Ungab committee that she was certifying that 28.5bn pesos in dividends from state corporations and earnings of the Bureau of Treasury from bond placements is available to fund the additional budget.
Abad said the Palace intends to use up the entire 28.5bn pesos and would submit “amendments” to the proposed supplemental budget.
He said the additional projects would come from those vetted for the comprehensive Yolanda reconstruction programme that Aquino and the Cabinet approved in October.
However, Belmonte said he is not in favor of increasing the additional budget.
“We reduced this from 23.34bn pesos to 22.467bn pesos. And now we are increasing it? It will not look good. People will laugh at us,” he said.
The Philippine Star
